Me: Okay I know it's been a while. I'm working on this chapter. I updated How Did This Happen.

Rex: Band is awesome but summer practice sucks.

Me: Yeah it does. During the summer we have band camp so I didn't get to write like I wanted to. We had practice near everyday. And we still have practice every day until 5... Now it is until 6... 2 in the morning on football Fridays.

Badin: Badin!

Me: Yes Badin you will be in this chapter somewhere.

Rex: On with this chapter! Number! Two.

Later that night, Rex was just going out to tell the night guard it was time to come back in. The second shift's guard was a snow leopard by the name of Badin. He was crouched in the snow making himself as small as possible against the cold wind. A face of rock on the left side kept him protected from the snow from that direction. The storm was getting worse and it was getting even colder. Rex nudged the cat back inside and told him to get some rest.

He padded away keeping his head low against the sharp biting wind to where the other guard was crouched in a dip into the rock where a large enough den formed that he was sheltered from the wind and snow. He nudged the Lynx out of his hiding place. The snow came up to their knees and the lynx was struggling through the deep snow. Rex ushered Laurie ahead of him and into the cave. The smaller cat shivered as he shook snow from his legs and pelt.

Laurie padded on trembling legs back to his den and curled up in his warm nest of moss and deer pelts. He felt someone burrow closer to him and he lifted his head to look at his brother, Lure. His brother was warm and he savored the warmth after being in the freezing cold for several hours. With the weather so severe, the camp would be safe for a while.

Rex picked up a small goat pelt from the part of the cave they kept them to keep them dry and clean. He carried it back to his cave and curled up in his nest. He laid the pelt over his back and let his head rest on his paws. His eyes closed slowly, and he drifted to sleep.

Rex woke early that morning. He felt as though he had just drifted to sleep but he shook it off and stood up. He stretched his back in a luxurious arch and blew out a breath as he padded out of the cave and into the main cave where a few cats were digging through the pile for something good to eat. The storm was letting up some.

"Coric, why don't you take out a patrol for water and food when you're finished?" Rex asked. Coric nodded and the clouded leopard bent back to his meal then looked back up.

"The river is frozen over and we don't have the strength to break through." He said licking his jaws.

"Wake one of the jags and take them with you." Rex said.

While Rex sat down in a corner of the cave to groom his fur from where he had slept on it, the cat with the pelt the color of flame approached him. He sat down a couple of feet away from him and curled his tail neatly over his paws. Rex finished his grooming and looked down at him.

"Need something?" Rex asked. "My name is Rex by the way."

"Firestar. Well, since you're kind enough to allow us into your home, we decided we'd like to catch our own food." He mewed. "We should be nice enough to earn our keep considering the recent events."

"This is a rough and dangerous part of the mountains. Not a place for a cat your size." Rex said looking down at him. The tip of his long tail tapped against the floor with a dull thud. "When the snow begins to let up you can go with our patrols." A few of the clan cats who were awake were introducing themselves, tentatively. They were afraid of them. No doubt they'd heard stories.

"Thank you, Rex." Firestar said.

"What kind of name is Rex?" Blackstar muttered as he padded up to sit beside Firestar. Leopardstar followed Blackstar and sat next to them with her deputy Mistyfoot.

"It is my name." Rex replied in a flat voice. His tail flicked against the floor and he stood up. Maurel, a little fishing cat, bounded over to him.

"Blackstar, we don't want trouble." Firestar hissed in the Shadowclan warrior's ear as Leopardstar spoke.

"My name is Leopardstar. This is my deputy, Mistyfoot." She said flicking her tail towards the younger cat beside her.

"Good morning, Maurel, and I am pleased to meet you all." Rex said looking down at the cat.

"Hey Cap, can I go out with the morning patrol?" He asked. Maurel was about twice the size of Firestar. He was rather small for a fishing cat, but that didn't slow his determination.

Rex gave a short sound of laughter. "Do you think you're up to it?"

"I'm sure I am, Sir. Give me a chance." Maurel said. His tail flicked back and forth eagerly.

Blackstar tilted his head and 'mrrowed' with laughter. Maurel hissed at him and raised one web footed paw. Rex beat him to the chase and swung his tail sideways, directly at Blackstar, knocking the small cat over.

"Hey!" Blackstar said snarling as he pushed back to his feet. A few Shadowclan cats nearby who'd seen what happened started to turn their direction.

"Oops, sorry. Probably should have warned you about the tail. It's pretty long." Rex said as though everything that had happened was an accident. He sat down and curled it over his paws.

Blackstar waved his clan cats to go back to what they were doing.

"Jesse, Hardcase, Kix!" Rex called the three of them as they were on their way out after Coric's patrol. They paused and turned to look at him. "Take Maurel down to the river and see if his skills are up to par." Jesse nodded.

"Thank you, Sir, I won't fail you." Maurel said in a cheery voice and bounded after the other three cats. He laughed softly to himself as he watched the long haired fishing cat run out after his brothers stumbling but getting back up and getting on with it.

"He's hardly bigger than me." Blackstar said with a challenge in his eyes.

"He's a lot stronger than he looks, and he can swim. I've seen him bring down prey as big as me."

"Riverclan can swim as well" Leopardstar said evenly.

Rex blinked and looked down at her. "I mean no disrespect nor do I doubt your abilities. He is a fishing cat. His paws are webbed and he has fur like a beaver's." He said. "I do realize, however, that many of you are starving and tired. One of your cats is very sick." Rex stated more than questioned.

"Yes, Tallstar, the leader of Windclan is very old, but he was determined to see this journey through to the end." Firestar said. Onewhisker of Windclan, who was just waking up, padded over to the Clan leaders.

"Good morning, Onewhisker." Mistyfoot said. "How's Tallstar?"

Onewhisker shook his head. "No better. The cold is only making it worse."

Rex twisted his head to look at a couple of his cats. One a curly haired Lynx, Kinks, the other a bobcat, Jacks. Neither of them liked each other. "Perhaps Lance can take a look." Rex said without looking at the clan cats. He stood up then crouched as though he were ready to pounce his gaze still locked on the two cats. They were arguing. He realized that the clan cats were looking in the same direction as he was but he paid it no mind.

Jacks jumped at Kinks, claws extended and Rex pounced at the same time slamming into both cats. Jacks hit the wall with a dull crack. Kinks hit the floor stunned. Jacks lay still for several moments.

Kinks stood up, shook out his pelt and pounded out of the cave. Rex walked over and picked up the bobcat laying on the floor by the scruff of his neck. Jacks let out a growl of protest then a whine of pain. Something was definitely broken. Rex carried the cat to the medbay then returned.

"Sorry about that." Rex said. "Those two are always at each other."

The Clan Cats had watched with wide eyes in surprise at Rex's quick attack. Just as Rex sat down once again, Coric and one of the other cats from his patrol returned carrying a rather large mountain goat draped across their backs. The younger cat had a mouth filled with soaked moss. Coric was carrying a couple of huge mountain rodents in his mouth along with a rabbit. They deposited them in their appropriate pile. The younger cat took the ball and disappeared into one of the other caves.

"Coric you've a guest in your cave." Rex said in a rather annoyed voice.

"Let me guess, Jacks?" He said. "I saw Kinks run past on the way back."

"You guessed correctly," Rex said, "and when you get the chance go out and find him. We don't need anyone out on their own in this weather."

"Badin!" Coric said cheerfully to the cat as he returned from the cave without the ball of moss.

"Yes, Sir?" He bounded over to him and stood the tip of his tail flicking in the air.

"Time to test your tracking skills." Coric said flicking snow off of one of his ears with a paw. "Track down Kinks and bring him back here per Captain's orders."

"Sir, yes Sir." Badin said then raced away at top speed.

"Pace yourself!" Coric yowled after him and the snow leopard slowed his pace. Coric sighed a weary sigh. "You know where to find me." He then turned and padded away slowly. It was then that Rex realized the medic was limping on his right hind paw.

"Coric, send Lance to me will ya?" Rex mewed.

Coric neither paused nor turned around. "Of course, Sir."

A couple of minutes later, Lance padded out carrying a large dock leaf between his teeth. He set it down next to one of the older cats and walked over to Rex. "You asked for me, Sir?"

"Yes, Lance. Go with the Clan cats and aid them when needed." He said nodding to the small cats.

"I'm going for a walk. Hawkeye you're in charge." Rex said to the black panther. He was laying in a patch of moss chewing on a goat's leg bone. He looked up, licked his lips, and said, "Yes, Sir. You can count on me."

Rex was glad he could always count on his boys. He stood up and padded out of the cave slowly. He had no reason to rush right now. He had to pick his way through snow anyways. It came up to his knees. He stood in it for a few moments to let his paws get used to it. He padded down the path sniffing at the air to track his cats to their places. They were on track. Instead of heading towards the river as his plan was he headed deeper into the mountains in the opposite direction from the caves.

Back towards the river, Maurel, Jesse, Hardcase, and Kix were heading up the river. There were a few small animals that scattered as they caught their scent, but mostly animals too small for them to catch. There was a small mountain pond up in that direction and the cats had found it perfect for fishing. The moment they reached pond, Maurel bounded ahead. He was so excited he almost plunged into the freezing water. The water was freezing cold and the pond had a thin layer of ice covering it.

An icy wind cut through Kix's fur. The cat shivered and ducked beside Hardcase to let the slightly larger cat shield him from the frigid mountain winds.

"Come back Maurel, we need to stick together." Jesse called over the wind. The small cat bounded back over to them his ears flattened against his head.

"Sorry, I'm a sack full of energy right now," Maurel said, pawing at the snow with his heavy webbed paws. The young cat hadn't been out in days. They wouldn't let him saying he was too young and too small to be out in the cold weather.

"It's fine. You're no worse than Hardcase," Jesse said giving a short sound of laughter. "That storm could flare back up at any time, it's better if we stay close."

"Hey!" Hardcase protested. He nudged his brother with his shoulder and his brother slipped on the slippery ice.

"Ouch! Hardcase!" Jesse hissed. He scrambled to his paws, his claws gripping the ice to keep from falling again.

"Knock it off, all of you before someone gets hurt," Kix said sternly, as he was the medic. "Also, if you keep this up you'll scare all the prey all the way back to camp."

Maurel bounded back to the edge of the lake and placed one paw tentatively on the ice. Kix watched him while Jesse and Hardcase headed off to chase some animal they had seen. Maurel was curious as to what it would be like to slide across the ice. Surely it'd be fun, wouldn't it? He placed another paw on the ice and pressed down. The ice held. He slowly stepped on the ice with his hind paws and took a step forward.

The ice creaked then suddenly gave way. Maurel fell into the frigid waters with a loud yelp. The water was much too cold, even for a fishing cat. He struggled to bring his head above the water, and as he resurfaced, his head hit ice.

"Maurel!" Kix yowled racing to the edge of the lake. He had gone under, and the water had carried him under the ice. "Maurel!"

Hardcase, who had heard his brother's yowls, abandoned the mountain goat he'd gone after and turned back racing back to the pond as fast as he could. "Kix what happened?!"

"Maurel fell in." Kix mewed, worry laced his body, his eyes. Without another word, Hardcase dove into the water and ducked under. He felt a body about 3 feet away from the opening. He grabbed it in his jaws, his body screamed at him for air but he held on and swam strongly for the opening. He crawled out dragging Maurel with him. The moment he hit land, he dropped Maurel and took several deep breaths of air. Kix was quickly working on Maurel and the young cat woke up coughing up a lungful of water and gasping for air.

Hardcase shook the water from his fur and began trembling. The harsh, gelid, winds cut right through his wet fur to the bone. Jesse game back towards the pond carrying a small kid in his jaws. (Kid is the term for young goat.) Jesse dropped the goat and covered it in snow then trotted over to his brothers.

"What happened?" Jesse pressed himself against Hardcase, who had begun to shiver uncontrollably. Hardcase burrowed closer to his brother. He had begun to shiver so violently, his legs refused to hold him up.

"They fell in. Come on. We need to get them back to camp before they freeze." Kix said grabbing Maurel and picking him up. He whimpered as he started to shiver. Kix took off at a run. Jesse followed with Hardcase draped over his back. His knees almost buckled under the weight of the cat but he forced himself to keep going. As soon as they were inside the cave, Coric came out of his cave and gestured for him to lay them in the soft fleece lined beds in the medical cavern. Kix lay down next to Maurel and licked his ear lightly.

The small cat pressed deeper into the warm nest as Coric began fiddling with something. Jesse laid Hardcase in a bed then left to collect the goat he'd left.

Blackstar snorted. "I knew that cat wasn't good for anything but trouble."

Chase, another fishing cat, much older than Maurel, heard him and padded over to him. He was a lot bigger than Maurel as well. "That is a matter of your opinion, but he is my brother and I will claw your tail off and eat it for dinner should you insult him." When he spoke, his voice was oddly calm with a sharp icy edge to it.

He turned around and padded away leaving a dumbstruck Blackstar in his wake. One of the Thunderclan cats who was passing by him paused. "These cats don't joke around Blackstar." He kept walking not waiting for an answer.

Deep in the mountains, Rex sat on an outcropping of rock. He'd been there for what seemed like days but had only been a couple of hours. He sighed and looked down upon the battlefield that had claimed the lives of so many cats. He heard a sound behind him. He tensed, listening hard but not daring to turn around quite yet.

"You have made a brave choice coming back here." The cold snarling voice whispered over the snow. Rex slowly turned around.

"I have not crossed the border, Whitefoot." He said evenly. "You have no quarrel with me." The snow leopard took a step back.

"Yet you crossed into this territory." He growled.

"A simple mishap not to happen again." Rex said still quite calm.

"I'll make sure of it!" Whitefoot snarled and lunged at Rex. Rex raised onto his hindpaws and swiped his claws across the smaller cats pelt. Blood sprayed across both of them and Whitefoot fell back with a loud yowl of pain and rage.

"Stay on your side of the border." He growled.

The cat hissed. "You just wait!" He turned and limped off as fast as he could. Rex turned around and padded back towards the caves.

Rex had forgotten about the blood on his pelt from the small skirmish. The clan cats gasped at the sight of him. Some backed away and Rex's cats came forward.

"I'm fine boys, it's not my blood." Rex said flatly as he padded back towards his cave. They took the hint and turned away. Rex settled down in his personal cave to lick the blood from his fur. Badin, who had returned some time ago with Kinks, dropped a young kid someone had caught the passed couple days in front of him.

"Thanks Badin. You've done enough today, get something to eat and some rest." Rex said looking up at the young cat.

"Yes, Sir." The cat turned to leave then paused. "Sir, thank you for taking me in." Badin wasn't one of the cats who had came here with Rex. He had been a straggler who was starving and very sick when they found him. Rex had taken him in out of pity, and the cat had struggled to prove himself many times over.

"Badin, you have proven yourself to be one of us. You're a true brother, and if anyone has anything to say about that, send them to me." Rex said. His eyes were filled with pride for his men.

Coric sighed wearily as he checked the two sleeping cats over quickly checking their temperatures.. Hardcase was drying and recovering quicker than the younger cat. He swiped his tail at Coric's nose as the medic pressed it close to his fur. Kix looked up at the senior medic with curiosity in his gaze but he did not say anything as he shifted closer to Maurel.

"You should rest, Coric." Kix said softly. The older medic hadn't slept the night before as he had been tending to wounded cats.

"I'll rest when my work is done." The medic said stiffly as he retreated into the back of the medical cave. He returned carrying a goat skin. He dropped it on top of the two cats then walked back to the cave. He slowly went through his medical supplies among herbs and other odds and ends he'd had left from when he was still human. He picked out a few leaves from amongst them and set them aside for Maurel. He backed out of the cave and padded back to the main cave off the sickbay.

Kix lifted his head and watched the older cat limp away. "Coric your leg… it's bothering you."

Coric froze. "I'll be fine, Kix. It's just a cold ache."

"As you say, Sir." Kix said. He sat up and began to rub Maurel's flank with his paws.

Coric continued out the cave. He noticed that the Clan cats were huddled up in a corner of the cave having a conversation amongst themselves. Sitting to the right of the Clan leaders was Rex. His fur was no longer stained with the blood of Whitefoot.

Tallstar was laying on his side not too far from them. Lance was sitting next to him. The cats were discussing hunting. The day was still young.

"Hawkeye, take Lure, Laurie and a few of the Clan cats towards the river. Steer clear of the pond. If any of them fall in they might not make it back out," Rex said. "Kinks, go with them. Indy, take Tup, Dogma, Lance, Appo, Redeye and some of the clan cats and head towards the eastern border. Be careful.

"I want you all back in before the storm picks back up. Am I understood?" Rex said. He glanced at each of his cats making eye contact just for a moment then moving on to the next one.

"Sir, yes sir!" They rang in unison.

"Look after the Clan cats. From now they are our allies." Rex said standing up. "Dismissed!"

The cats broke up. Hawkeye pushed his group to eat before they went out. They were gathered around a goat that had been brought in the day before. They hadn't except for Hawkeye. Kinks had said he wasn't hungry either. Indy's group had already ate except Redeye who hadn't saying he wasn't hungry. They knew he was, but they also knew he was dealing with some things that were just better off being left alone.

Kinks missed his brothers. He'd give anything and everything just to be back by Quay's side blasting clankers. He even missed Coco, the crazy smart medic of the legion. As he padded out, he hung back keeping at the rear of the group behind the clan cats. He had been the only one separated from his brothers. It was terribly hard to fit in with a group of established people.

"Tup, Redeye scout ahead. Remember Tup, put your paws down lightly." Indy said as he slowed to a trot then a stop to let the clan cats catch up.

"I have never run so fast in my life." Sandstorm mewed panting hard.

"Me neither," Cloudtail mewed slowing to a stop. There were also Rowanclaw, Talonpaw and Nightwing from Shadowclan, Webfoot and Weaselpaw from Windclan, and Stormfur and Hawkfrost from Riverclan.

"Lance, Applehead," Indy said referring to Appo by his pet name, "Pick a spot. Dogma, you're with me. You cats can come with us."

"Don't call me that Indy." Appo growled then stalked off with Lance in tow, and climbed down the steep slope that overhung a valley. The same overhang that Rex was sitting on earlier. They skirted the graveyard, pausing briefly to say a word of remembrance for their fallen brothers.

They ended up in a lush part of the valley that was protected by the leaves and mountain rocks. It was well protected from the cold weather and snow. There was a small creek flowing there as well as many bushes and shrubs. It was an ideal place for hunting especially in the winter when everything else was covered in a layer of fluffy white snow. He found it strange that this small place was not cold, but warm and lush while most of the mountains were frigid from blizzards and the high altitude.

Appo padded towards a clump of catmint and gave it an appreciative sniff. He resisted the urge to roll in it telling himself that it'd be very child like.

"We can take some back to Coric after our hunt." Lance said pausing to lap up some icy cold water from the creek. Lance figured there was something strange about this particular part of the territory. They had fought to win it back over and over again. It was never cold there. It never snowed, rained, or hailed there. It was a very strange part of the mountains.

Lance paused, closed his eyes, and let the warmth permeate his body. He felt so warm he almost wanted to lay there and take a very long cat nap. He forced himself to keep moving. He soon caught the scent of a large animal. He froze in alarm as he heard a loud roar followed by a yowl of fear.

"Black bear! Run!" Tup screeched as his paws pounded against the ground. Redeye was seconds behind him.

Lance twisted and took off at a hard run. "Fall back! Fall back!" He screeched.

Appo heard the cries and turned to see what was wrong as the three shot past them, but the large heavy animal was gaining on them. He twisted to run, to get away, from the black bear but alas, it was too late. The bear reared up and came down hard on Appo's hindquarters. The cat screeched in pain.

Suddenly a gray blur shot past them and right on top of the mighty bear. It reared up trying to throw off Redeye who had come back to rescue his brother. The others grabbed Appo and pulled him to safety up the ravine. Finally the bear twisted and managed to grab Redeye in its large terrible teeth.

It threw him with a mighty strength at the rocks. Redeye hit it with a sickening crack. The bear moved in and grabbed the small lynx by his throat and slammed him against the rock again. Redeye could do nothing but cry with pain. Redeye was dead before he hit the rock for the third time. A bright white light met his vision. Suddenly there was no more pain. He was no longer in the bear's grip. The only thing in front of him was the ravine filled with lush plants and plenty of prey. He looked around. When he looked back in front of him all he saw was another lynx.

"Mixer!" He took the few small steps that brought him to his brother. The cat in front of him purred and nuzzled his brother happily. "Where are we?"

"Well they call this The Place of a Million Stars." His brother replied turning to walk away. "Come on."

"Wait… Mixer… I'm dead?" Redeye said not moving from where he was.

"Not quite, vod," He said pausing then turning back to nudge his brother with his muzzle. "We're going home."

The black bear looked up from where it was ravaging Redeye's body and licked its chops. The other cats had ran and met back up with Indy. Indy had been raving mad to find out that they had left Redeye behind. The Clan Cats were in a small group behind them trembling in fear at the huge animal.

"We need to get them back," Appo said then he whispered. "Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum, Redeye. You saved my life." His voice was low and pained. They could all hear the emotional as well as physical pain he was in. One of his hind paws was completely crushed.

Indy carefully picked up the injured cat by the scruff of his neck and pulled him onto Dogma's back. The younger cat staggered under the weight for a bit but held him.

Tup ran ahead with the Clan Cats to warn the medics while the others made their way back. Lance stuck close to Tup and Appo while Indy kept an eye on their front and rear lest any surprises lay hidden.

"What was a black bear doing out this time of year? I thought they'd be hibernating at this time." Dogma said panting slightly from the effort of their pace and the extra weight of the heavy cat on his back.

"Let's stop for a moment." Indy said as they neared a small branch off from the creek. It was very narrow. They slowed to a walk then a halt. Lance carefully pulled Appo from Dogma's back and into a pile of snow. Appo hissed as his leg was jarred but sighed as his leg went numb from the cold snow. Dogma lapped up some of the cold water then laid down on his side to catch his breath.

"They do hibernate at this time of year. As to why that one wasn't in his comfy cozy cave sleeping away, I don't know." Lance said as he grabbed a couple of strong sticks buried under the snow to create a makeshift splint for Appo. As he finished applying the temporary splint, he padded over to the creek and lapped up a few drops of water. He and Indy carefully replaced the injured cat on Dogma's back and they took off back towards the cave again.

They made quick time getting there. The moment they removed Appo from his back, Dogma sank onto the moss covered floor panting hard. Someone dropped water soaked moss in front of him and a small animal. He licked up the water dripping from the moss then slowly sat up and ripped into the small animal. Rex approached him as he finished it off.

"You did well Dogma. Great job." Rex said. "Get some rest you must be tired carrying Appo."

"Yes Sir, thank you, Sir." Dogma stood and padded back to the cave with a weary sigh.

Rex turned back around and said loudly, "Epsilon Squad Report!" The five members of that squad moved forward quickly to see what it was their captain wanted.

The squad's sergeant, Martin, stepped forward. "Epsilon Squad reporting as ordered, Sir!"

"I've a mission for you. We've got an unwanted black bear in our territory. I'm leaving it to you to drive it out. It's killed one of our men. Take your squad and hunt it down by any means necessary." Rex said. His voice was neutral but there was anger welling up inside him. "I have faith in your abilities." He said gazing at each of them before he moved on.

"We will not let you down, Sir!" Martin said. He held his head high then turned around to look at the rest of his squad. "Epsilon squad! Fall out!"

"Rex, what if they're no match for that black bear?" Firestar came to stand beside them. "If it gets to us we don't stand a chance. Do you have a plan?"

"No, but they do."

"You're leaving them to come up with their own plan?" Blackstar said with a sneer.

"I have the utmost faith in them." Rex replied. "They are ARCs."

"What is an ARC?" Leopardstar asked.

"Advanced Reconnaissance Commandos." Lance said. "They're a one man army on their own." He paused to bring one paw up. He licked it then drew it over one of his ears. He licked his chops then looked down at her. "Very bad temper most of the time. However, if you get to know them they're not so bad."

They went about their business. The Clan cats were full for the first time in moons. The weather outside began to get harsher. The ARC team had not returned yet. Night was beginning to fall, but they still had not returned.

After several more hours, night had fallen and the team hadn't returned. Rex began to fear the worse. He paced back and forth in the main cave as his cats and the Clan cats began to settle in.

Firestar padded over to him. "Perhaps you should send a patrol out to find them." Firestar could practically smell the anxiety in him.

Rex looked down at him then shook his head. "There's not enough time. There's a blizzard brewing out there." Not long after he said it 3 forms came in through the cave. They slid to a stop and ARC Five and ARC Echo stepped towards him.

"Mission has been completed, Captain." He said. He was panting hard as though they had run the entire way there.

"Where are Martin and Dart?" Rex said looking at the three of them with worried filled eyes.

The elder cat, Shadow, stepped forward. He was a black panther, but grey had started to grow in some places. "An avalanche trapped them in a cave on the other side of the valley."

"And you left them there?" Rex said in a strong voice, pushing to his paws and rising to his full height to look down at the two of them.

Echo actually took a tiny step back. "It was on his orders, Sir. There are more ways out of that cave. They're looking for a way out." There was a tiny hint of panic in his voice as he looked down.

"He ordered us to get back here before the blizzard caused another avalanche." Shadow verified with a sigh.

Rex finally sighed and sat down again. "Get some rest. Fives get that wound treated." He said to the young cat. There was a sharp tang of blood in the air as it dripped down the side of his head.

"Yes, Sir." He said. The three of them turned away. Shadow paused then turned around and padded right back to where the captain sat.

"What is it Shadow?" He asked tilting his head to one side as he draw a paw over one ear.

"There's another thing, Sir. We believe that cave may be home to cubs of that bear. It was definitely a female."

"It'd be highly strange for them to have young cubs during this time of the year."

"That's what we thought, Sir, but the evidence points to that conclusion."

"Hmm." He stood then sat then stood back up. "If there are cubs depending on how old they are, either the weather conditions or we will take them out."

Shadow nodded then padded away. Rex sighed and set up a night guard even though he knew there were going to be terrible conditions outside during the night.

He finally walked back to his cave and lay there. He fell into an exhausted sleep.

Back in the cave, Martin and Dart settled in next to each other. The two shivered in the damp cold cave. They pressed close to each other in the center of the cave, away from the damp walls to keep warm.

"Do you think the others made it back okay?" Dart finally asked.

Martin shifted slightly and looked at him. "I know they did, Dart. Now rest, we need to keep up our strength so we can get out of here."

Dart nodded then rested his head against his brother's flank and closed his eyes, but sleep eluded him. Martin closed his eyes as well, but did not fall asleep. After several long minutes of listening to his brother's heartbeat, Dart drifted into an uneasy sleep. Martin gave a soft sigh and finally let exhaustion take over his tired body.

A/N:

Me: Okay I've updated this story. I might plan to help Co-write an epilogue for Unwritten. If you want to read that go ahead, I might update How Did This Happen again since I have time to write at school.

Quay: If you've noticed these chapters are getting longer.

Me: Yeah they are, I'm trying to give you guys more to read so You're not left in the dark too much while I get too busy to write.